Houses in La Ceiba, Honduras

Typical Honduran house, La Ceiba

These are some photos of houses here in La Ceiba, Atlantida, Honduras. The above house is very typical of most homes on the north coast of Honduras. All except the poorest of homes have a concrete or concrete and iron muro (fence). Middle class homes usually have a largish front porch or a carport used as a front porch. Windows are almost always covered with iron security bars, often decorative. Roofs are usually made of corrugated tin or zinc sheets. Pale tropical colors such as this green, sky blue, yellow, or peach are popular. The deep tropical colors used in Mexico are rarely seen here.

I was taking a closer look at their flower beds in front and I noticed that they are filled with trash that people walking by have dropped there. Jeesh!

This mansion has been under construction for more than a year. It has some nice details. I'm guessing that this house will be painted cream or beige with darker beige details. We'll see! It seems to be a trend that new "mansions" are being painted very subdued colors or white.

Below is another house under construction. I'm not sure what is up with the three concrete covered windows in the center of the second floor − a change in plans, I guess. I'm willing to bet that this owner decided to save money and didn't use an architect.




The big gaping garage seems to always be the focal point of most houses. Most homes do not have garage doors. Garajes (garages or carports as we would call them) are normally tiled with ceramic tile and often serve as an outdoor party area as well.






This is a shack alongside the Cangrejal River. Construction materials consist of wood, tin, and cardboard. Note the contrast of the houses on the other side of the river. This house is definitely at risk when the river rises.



Construction has stopped on this mansion for several months now. A brother of the owners was in charge of the construction and rumor has it that he stole the owners' money. You can't trust anyone in Honduras. Seriously, I've heard so many stories like this.

It is a beautiful house but do you see a huge flaw in this design? There is a telephone pole right in the middle of the otherwise imposing entrance. Something like that would drive me absolutely crazy! It is possible to have a pole moved, but of course you have to pay for it.

The bars that look like antennas sticking up from the muro are the guidelines for the electric security fencing.



These are more shacks alongside the Cangrejal. Note the muro (fence) dividing the properties. The rocks, concrete blocks, and wood on the roofs are to keep the tin sheets from blowing off.

Most likely these are invasionistas (invaders) who have built homes on property that they don't own. I don't know that for sure. I'm just guessing because these houses are in a dangerous area when the river floods.


This is a new colonia (neighborhood) being developed. Formerly it was an old orange grove. The land was filled in with rocks and gravel and then covered with fill dirt.

The rocks and gravel come from the river. I'm not sure how many more years that can go on before the rivers are irreparably damaged. The fill dirt comes from the small mountains − they actually just dig them away with heavy equipment. By raising the level of the area, now during tropical storms, the major roads on two sides and a nearby colonia flood.

The owners were granted an environmental permit from the city who supposedly analyzed the development for problems such as this. No one seems to be doing anything to improve the drainage. They haven't started building yet, so maybe the city is going to make them correct the situation.